CARM Newsletter 10-02-03

Two weeks ago when I sent out the Newsletter I forgot to link the graphics properly. Hopefully, this time I got it right. My wife had hand surgery last week and is recovering well. She has Marfan Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder. Her joints become arthritic and loose. The aorta at her heart needs to be watched as well. Add to this the fact that she is married to me and you have a woman with a huge burden to bear. Next week, Oct. 8th, I go in for surgery to correct a hiatal hernia. Please remember to pray for my wife and me. The new notebooks have been released for about three weeks and a bunch of people have ordered the MOAN (Mother Of All Notebooks). Our printer took much longer than expected to get the first batch to us, but we finally have them and will mail them out asap. If you are called to pray and if you are interested in participating in the CARM prayer ministry, then please check out www.carm.org/prayer.htm. You can sign up to be a prayer partner or you can even submit a request for prayer.

The Bible and Science: Is the Bible scientifically accurate? You bet it is. In Isaiah 40:22, the bible says God sits above the circle of the earth. This could easily be interpreted as a sphere. In Job 26:7 it says that God suspends the earth in nothing. That is interesting because basically all other ancient cultures taught that the earth rested on something. Gen. 15:5 says the stars are innumerable. 2 Sam. 22:16 says that there are valleys in the seas. Psalm 102:22-26 teaches entropy. Ecclesiastes 1:6-7 teaches the water cycle on earth, how the waters evaporate into clouds, that rain that flows back to the sea, etc. And, Psalm 8:1,3,6,8 mentions currents in the oceans. So, how is it that the writers of the Bible knew these things since they weren't discovered until relatively recently? Easy answer. God knew all this beforehand and revealed it in the Bible.

Active Obedience: As distinguished from passive obedience, particularly in Reformed Theology. Active obedience is Jesus' actively fulfilling all the law of God. This active obedience is imputed (to reckon to another guilt or blessing) to the believer when he believes; that is, God reckons to the believer the righteousness of Christ when the believer trusts in Christ and His work. As Jesus actively fulfilled the Law of God, He established His perfect holiness and righteousness. As Jesus removes our sins and cleanses us, He also accounts to us, imputes to us His own righteousness so that we can stand before the Father, blameless.

Have you died? We will all die one day physically. But, have you died before then? If you are a Christian, then you have already died. "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? 2May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" (Rom. 6:1-2). Christians have died to sin. The Greek aorist tense (past tense) suggests that this death happened and was completed in the past. When did it happen? It happened at your salvation. So what is Paul saying here especially since if we have died to sin, we still struggle with it? Why is it that sin seems so pervasive, so powerful, and so persistent? Haven't we repented of countless sins countless times, some of them the same ones over and over again? Absolutely. So, if we have died to sin, why is it still alive in us? The truth is that if you are a Christian, if you have trusted in Jesus who is God in flesh as your Savior and reject any of your own works as a contribution to your salvation, but you rely completely and totally on Christ's sacrifice, then you have died to sin. You have died through the identification with Christ on the Cross because as a Christian, you are "in Christ." "Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus," (Rom. 6:11). Also, see Rom. 8:1-2, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." Death in the Bible is not the cessation of existence. It is separation. Physical death does not mean we stop existing; we continue on in the next life. Spiritual death means separation from God, eternally. Therefore, your death to sin is your separation from it. It is the separation from the power it has to damn you and to rule over you. It also means that because you are in Christ and Christ is in you, you have the power to resist sin where before you did not. Yes, we still sin. Yes, we still struggle. But our struggle against sin proves that we are not dead in our sins. Instead we are alive in Christ. Only those who are alive struggle for life and we Christians certainly struggle for our life in Christ apart from sin. So, take courage and consolation by knowing that your struggle for holiness is pleasing to God and is also a sign of your salvation, something bought for by Jesus did on the cross. Therefore, you are not to live in sin. You are not to live in fornication. You are not to live in compromise. You are not to live as though the grace of God will take care of your sins in such a way as to say that it is okay to sin just a little, or just a little more. No. You are dead to sin and are not to live after the ways of the flesh. You are not to compromise our Christian walk. You are to stand for righteousness. If you are a Christian and you claim the name of Christ, then walk in righteousness. Walk in the manner that Jesus walked. Stand for truth and stand against sin. "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy,'" (1 Pet. 1:14-16).

VERSE OF THE WEEK. Romans 8:37-39,"But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord," (NASB).

--------------------------------------------------------------

SUPPORT If you think CARM is a worthwhile ministry, please seriously consider supporting it financially and prayerfully. The goal is to contribute to that which expands the kingdom of God. If you want to help CARM move towards full time status, please consider giving to this non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible. http://www.carm.org/goods/donations.htm.

------------------------------- In Him,

Matt Slick, your missionary to the Internet. Equipping the church to defend the faith in a post modern world.

Help CARM by Liking It!

15%Discount on Logos Bible Program. CARM highly recommends using the Logos Bible Research Program. It is what we use. It is the best in the world. Just go to logos.com/carm. Use the coupon code of 6CARM.